This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present invention, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present invention. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
As will be appreciated, oil and natural gas are fluids that have a profound effect on modern economies and societies. Indeed, devices and systems that depend on oil and natural gas are ubiquitous. For instance, oil and natural gas are used for fuel in a wide variety of vehicles, such as cars, airplanes, boats, and the like. Further, oil and natural gas are frequently used to heat homes during winter, to generate electricity, and to manufacture an astonishing array of everyday products.
The flow of fluid, whether petroleum-based or otherwise, can be controlled with valves. Fluid flows through a valve in an open configuration, but that flow can be interrupted by transitioning the valve to a closed configuration. While many valves are manually actuated between the open and closed configurations, more-robust valves found in industrial settings are typically actuated mechanically by an hydraulic, electric, or pneumatic actuator, for example.
In certain instances, the mechanical actuator provides a motive force in a direction that is different from what is required to actuate the valve. For example, a linear actuator may not be well suited to turn a ball valve. To translate linear movement into rotational movement, for example, a gear set may be interposed between the actuator and the valve. The gear set receives the actuator's motive-force output, changes the direction of that output, and then provides a motive-force input for the valve, thereby actuating the valve.
Gear sets extract a price: efficiency. Rather than all of actuator's output energy going toward actuation of the valve, the gear set consumes some of that energy. Less-efficient gear sets generally require a larger, more-powerful actuator than necessary if the valve were directly coupled to the actuator. The interposed gearbox thus adds to the cost, weight, and size of the required actuator. Further, for large valves or valves requiring large amounts of actuation torque, the actuator and related gear sets may be too large and require too much space for easy install and use.